1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a two-part orthodontic bracket comprising a base and a holding device produced separately therefrom, with the base and the holding device being fastened to one another via a connection device. In use, the holding device covers at least one slot for a wire and is movable by a closing movement from an open position into a closed position in which the holding device latches on the base.
2. Relevant Technology
A two-part orthodontic bracket having a base, an arch wire slot and a holding device is disclosed in WO 00/33760. However, when a bracket of this design is attached to a tooth surface of a patient whose teeth have strong crowding, such crowding can inhibit or prevent the holding devices of one or more brackets from being opened widely enough to easily place or remove an arch wire from the arch wire slot.
One-piece orthodontic brackets are known which have a base, an arch wire slot, and a holding device, with the base and the holding device being interconnected via a film hinge. In such brackets, the holding device can be tilted about an axis perpendicular to the pivot axis due to the flexibility of the film hinge. The inclusion of the film hinge limits the types of materials that can be used to make such one-piece brackets, particularly the film hinge itself, which must be flexible enough to allow opening and closing of the holding device.
In view of this, there is a need for improved two-part brackets in which the holding device has increased range of motion, or degrees of freedom, relative to the base to address problems associated with tooth crowding.